Suiting memories: Spotter Josh Williams’ career path runs through Dale Earnhardt

Every NASCAR fan has one piece of memorabilia that stands out above the rest. For Ryan Blaney's spotter Josh Williams, it's one of Dale Earnhardt's last fire suits from the 2001 NASCAR Cup Series season. The suit is displayed prominently in Williams' living room, where it can be easily admired every day. The suit was originally gifted to his father, Chris Williams, by Earnhardt's widow Teresa. Chris headed Earnhardt's merchandising affairs from 1988 until the driver's passing. Williams is unsure if Earnhardt ever wore the fire suit before his crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. "When they did the photoshoots, they had different logo placements on them than what he wore during Speedweeks," Josh Williams told NASCAR.com. "This one is identical to what he wore during Speedweeks. I don't know why that was back then, but it was different from when he did the photoshoots, which was during the Rolex race." [caption id="attachment_264082" align="aligncenter" width="768"] Photo courtesy of Josh Williams[/caption] Whether Earnhardt actually wore it or not would just add to the overall value, but it's the relationship Williams had with the man it belonged to that sparks endless childhood memories with each passing glance and represents the unique path he took to become the eye in the sky for the No. 12 Team Penske driver. RELATED: Williams wins Replacements 100 | See the 2020 fire suits Williams, a native of Martinsville, Virginia, grew up a mile away from Martinsville Speedway while his grandparents actually lived directly next to the half-mile short track. When Williams' father started working for Earnhardt, the "Intimidator" would park his motorhome in the family's backyard during Martinsville race weekends. "Him (Chris) and Dale were best friends," Josh Williams said. "They went on hunting trips and stuff together. A lot of younger memories with him -- helping them cook dinner at the house during race weeks or going turkey hunting, deer hunting, coming down to Mooresville (North Carolina) and going deer hunting at his shop." One particular hunting story that stood out involved Earnhardt's youngest daughter, Taylor. [caption id="attachment_264080" align="alignright" width="300"] Earnhardt, Williams and his dad during a hunting trip. Photo courtesy of Josh Williams.[/caption] "Some of the fonder memories were him, me, dad and Taylor all sitting in a big tree stand hunting together and me and Taylor being 10 years old at the time and not really caring about hunting, acting crazy in the deer stand," Williams recalled. "My dad and Dale laughed at us the whole time telling us we were flirting and stuff." While potentially flirting with his daughter gave Earnhardt a chuckle, there was another side to the driver that Williams experienced at an early age -- a less amused one. Williams recalled playing the NASCAR '93 video game with Earnhardt during a Martinsville weekend. The game allowed you to wreck a player under caution to gain a spot without penalty. Williams decided it would be comical to intentionally crash Earnhardt, but Earnhardt wasn't having any of it. It's in your best interest not to upset the "Intimidator," a concept that some grownups were never able to grasp. "Dale got ticked off at me, telling me that wasn't how you race and that wasn't how you were supposed to do it," Williams remembered. "I'm laughing because I didn't care, I thought it was great. I remember he left the house and spent the rest of the afternoon in his motorhome. He wouldn't hang out with us because he was so mad at me for doing that as a kid. "The best part was coming from a guy who pretty much had a career for moving people out of the way, and he got mad at me for doing it in a video game," he added. "Looking back, I'm like, you would have done that, come on. ... I was scared because he was mad." While Williams spent much of his younger years watching Earnhardt spark fear into much of his competition, thus fueling his passion for NASCAR racing, there was another passion he started taking more seriously beginning at age 12 -- golf. Williams played more frequently as he ascended through high school before eventually going semi-professional after graduation, playing on smaller tours and even attempting a few U.S. Open qualifiers. Oddly enough, it was the time spent chasing a dream on the links that led him back to chasing another dream at the race track. Williams' father started working for Kevin Harvick following Earnhardt's death. At that point, Williams was playing professional golf, but he was able to develop a close friendship with Harvick. Williams would race go-karts at Harvick's house, which is where he met former NASCAR driver Scott Speed during his final year at Red Bull Racing. The pair became friends and started playing golf together. "When he got let go from Red Bull, he ... asked me if I would come spot for him so I could be on the road and play golf on Saturdays," Williams said. " ... It got to the point that any money I was making spotting was just getting thrown right back into golf and it wasn’t going well, so I quit golf and started spotting full time." Williams followed Speed to the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing car in 2013. Williams moved to spotting duties for Michael McDowell, followed by AJ Allmendinger for a half season on the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing team. In 2015, Williams moved over to the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing team to spot for Blaney in a partial Cup Series schedule before going full time in 2016. [caption id="attachment_264081" align="alignleft" width="300"] Williams celebrates with Ryan Blaney in Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway in October 2019. (Chris Graythen | Getty Images)[/caption] "Racing was always my No. 1 passion because it's what I've grown up around and all I've known since the time I was born," Williams said. "But then going through high school and being good at golf, I tried that and I love golf and I miss playing professionally, but racing has always been something my whole family’s been in so it was always there. So, it’s funny how they kind of intertwined by knowing the right people and being around them." After taking the road less traveled toward a dream fulfilled, Williams used lessons learned from Earnhardt during childhood to transcend from a talented golfer to atop the spotter's stand for one of NASCAR's most popular drivers. “He would always give everyone a hard time about how you only get one chance at life and you have to make the most of it and the most of every opportunity and take every chance you can,” Williams said. “I feel like he would be proud of me getting my start, but also from there, earning my way to get with Ryan, a good driver and a good team. … He’d always want to push me to be better and would be hard on me, I’m sure, but that’s just who he was. Everyone he ever touched, he made better. I’m sure that would be the same case if he was still around.” And just in case he ever needs a reminder, Williams will always have Earnhardt’s fire suit right in front of him to remember where he came from while using it as motivation for success. “I have a lot of different stories about him away from the track, but when you look at that, it gives you a more different perception of who he was when … he was Superman, right?” Williams said. “Who he was when he put his suit and cape on, it reminds you every day of who he was and not ever forgetting who he was when he was on the race track. Kind of helps you carry yourself in a better way sometimes.”